A look at Lady Gaga’s connection to the gay community.
Love her or hate her, unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past few years, it’s assumed that you would have heard of Lady Gaga. With her controversial lyrics and outrageous outfits, she is impossible to ignore.
I’ve seen her copping a lot of criticism lately, for “cashing in” on the gay community, so I’ve decided to do the opposite, and explore what it is that makes Lady Gaga so idolised within the gay community and find out if it is true what they say, that it’s all just an act to lure in her “little monsters,” and I’m not just talking about the glitter, disco balls and PVC.
Lady Gaga has always made her strong stance for gay rights clearly known and has unabashedly shared numerous times, that she is bisexual. Her song lyrics from “Born This Way,” became an anthem for the queer community the world over, and she has always been an advocate for “being okay with me.”
Funnily enough, the reason she is so relatable is that she is so different. She’s an unapologetic “freak”, and it’s a feeling that a lot of gay boys and girls face in a society where being gay is not the norm.
When Lady Gaga came on to the music scene all of the sudden strength came from being different. You have the biggest pop artist of this decade telling you that you are perfect just the way you are, and she gives conformity, homophobia and any kind of –ism, the giant middle finger.
The kind of power that Lady Gaga can throw behind a young person struggling to come to terms with their sexuality is almighty, especially considering the rate of gay suicides of late and the fact that it was only around 40 years ago that homosexuality ceased to be known as a “psychological disorder.”
The world is still dragging its feet when it comes to the plight for equal rights, and unfortunately, Australia is very much included. It’s not about forcing people to accept homosexuals for being gay, it’s about wanting people to accept homosexuals for being people. It’s about people accepting that the difference between being gay or straight is the same as the difference between being short or tall, or black or white. It exists, it’s in your genetic make-up, and no amount of judgement is going to change a person’s genes. You can’t tell a person, that they are wrong for being “born this way,” and this is a strong message.
Like Lady Gaga or not, she is nothing short of instrumental considering the kind of influence she has, to help normalize and support the gay community and lifestyle in our reach for equality, and whether they agree with her methods or not, I know the gay community can see that too.
